A sad goodbye and a celebration of life

Sadly, I lost my cousin, dear friend, and musical companion, Jeremy, in a terrible truck accident early Thursday morning while driving his rig making a work delivery. It was extremely unexpected and untimely as he was only 43 years old. 

Jeremy was my cousin through marriage but it made little difference as I could not have adored him more. His father was married for 10 years to one of my blood relatives and I never had the chance to actually get to know Jeremy until I began singing publicly via karaoke where he helped run shows. Later on, I ended up singing with his father's band at gigs and open mic nights. On rare occasions, I had the wonderful opportunity to sing and play with him during live gigs. Jeremy was a sweet, loyal, good person who would do anything to help his family and friends. We saw each other through a great deal of situations and I will be forever grateful to have had him my life! 

He was brought up into a very musical family (his brother is a professional tap dancer and dance instructor who currently lives in New York) and he learned at a very young age how to dance, sing, and play guitar and drums. The thing that always amazed me about him was that he was born with amusia ("tone deaf") and seemed to overcome it so easily (although I am sure in reality that it was not). Jeremy was also very involved in singing and dancing in local musicals and he also was experienced at assisting behind the scenes.

Jeremy & I singing a duet at Karaoke Nite in 1996 ("Don't Go Breaking My Heart")

Jeremy singing and playing live with his dad's band 

Jeremy (on left) and I performing together at a local pub in 1999

Singing with his dad in more recent years

Willow, Jeremy and I posing pretty for a pic together

Although I will deeply miss him, I know that a dear and strong spirit such as his will forever live on in the hearts of each and every life he touched. Love you always, Jer!